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Monthly Archives: May 2015

The Eliza Broadus Offering will be at work all summer during mission trips for children, camp overnights, Kentucky Changers, and the rescheduled Creative Ministries Festival 2.0. Your gifts to the Eliza Broadus Offering help us keep participant fees lower by covering some of the expenses of these ministries.

Mission Adventure for Kentucky Kids is a NEW mission trip opportunity for children in grades 4-6 and their leaders. Two mission trips are planned and will include Bible study, recreation, crafts, missionary speaker, and local mission projects. Join us in Princeton, June 11-13, or in Inez, June 25-27. kywmu.org/missionadventure

Kentucky Changers are ready for four packed weeks of ministry projects to assist low income homeowners. Roofing, outdoor repairs, painting, building wheelchair ramps, and more are all part of the summer fun. Nightly worship with dynamic music and speaker make each day even more meaningful. Changers will be working in June and July in Richmond, Marshall County, Maysville and Henderson. There are still openings for Marshall County, June 20-26, and Henderson, July 11-18. Bring some students and find out how rewarding hands on missions can be. kywmu.org/changers

Overnights at Jonathan Creek and Cedar Crest are a great opportunity for girls and their mothers or GA leaders to spend a night at camp. Come participate in outdoor activities, Bible study, crafts, and meet a missionary. Join us at Jonathan Creek, July 10-11, and at Cedar Crest, July 17-18. Early registration rate of $55 per person through June 12. kywmu.org/overnights

Camp Courage will bring boys, dads, and leaders together July 31-August 1 at Laurel Lake Baptist Camp in Corbin. A variety of outdoor activities as well as the ever popular RA Racers will be part of the fun and missions learning. The theme is “We Are Faithful Messengers” drawn from 2 Cor. 4:13. kywmu.org/courage

Creative Ministries Festival 2.0 has been rescheduled for August 14-15 at Living Hope Baptist Church in Bowling Green. Register now for a great missions experience of both learning and doing creative ministries.Don’t miss guest artist Jeff Smith, director of Salt and Light Ministries in Richmond, VA. Plan now to attend great workshops including: Puppets, Balloons, Interpretive Movement, Sign, God Rods, Skits, Juggling, Face Painting, Magic, Lip Synch, Clowning, and Human Video. Find out what “Taking It to the Streets” is all about! kywmu.org/cmf

Remember that theEliza Broadus Offering is received all year long! Help us reach our goal of $1,250,000 to support these and other ministries across Kentucky. As of this writing, we just have $101,000 to go to reach our 2014-15 goal. Donate online or through your church! kywmu.org/ebo

The recent International Mission Board Missionary Appointment Service held in Louisville was a reminder of the importance of missions education and various missions experiences in preparing missionaries to say “yes!” to God’s call on their lives. Even in the short statements each missionary was able to give about his or her calling, the importance of formative experiences was evident.

For some, the calling to missions began as children in missions groups like Girls in Action and Royal Ambassadors. Hands on missions contributed to an understanding of what it means to serve others. Mission trips and short-term service helped a number of the new appointees to grasp what it means “to be radically involved in the mission of God.”

To connect these experiences in the lives of each appointee is like a “connect the dots” activity where a picture emerges as one draws a line from dot to dot. The importance of each dot cannot be underestimated in creating the finished picture.

So it is with missions education. Missions education that is done well includes many missions experiences of learning, doing, praying, giving, and going. Each learning experience lays a foundation of understanding. Each hands on service opportunity is a window to the work of God. Each mission trip expands the horizons. Praying for the lost and for missionaries creates a heart of compassion. Sacrificial missions giving puts the priorities of God on material possessions.

What if we miss adding dots to the picture? What if we are too busy to teach children about God’s mission around the world? What if we cannot be bothered to chaperone teenagers on a mission trip or Kentucky Changers? What if we fail to teach our students to pray? What if we skip teaching Biblical stewardship of time, money, and personality? What if we fail to equip our children and youth to witness?

Without the dots, there is no picture.

At SALT (State Association Leadership Training) last Saturday, I distributed a dot-to-dot picture and talked about missions dots that WMU provides such as:

Teaching preschoolers about God

Teaching preschoolers and children to pray

Teaching about sin and the importance of Jesus death on the cross for our sins

Teaching about the resurrection

Teaching the plan of salvation

Teaching kids (and adults) to share their faith

Introducing children to other cultures and people

Understanding lostness

Understanding why and how we send missionaries

Hands on missions experiences locally

Missions projects

Mission trips

Meeting missionaries

Praying for missionaries

Giving to missions

Skype with a missionary

And the list goes on. Connecting these missions dots helps us raise up church members who embrace the Great Commission.

We must also remember that these dots do not just happen. We must be intentional. In the same way, WMU growth does not just happen. We must be intentional as we:Discover potential new membersOrganize groupsTeach churchesSpotlight entry points to missions

The Eliza Broadus Offering makes dots, too. EBO will provide dots of missions experiences all summer through Kentucky Changers, Mission Adventure for Kentucky Kids, GA and Mother/Daughter Overnights, Camp Courage, and Creative Ministries Festival 2.0. Perhaps one day we will hear a new missionary appointee cite one of these dots that you have provided through praying and giving for state missions.